Barcelona president resignation ‘victory’ for Messi says pundit
Barcelona star Lionel Messi has been accused of trying to intimidate referee Alejandro Hernandez Hernandez during his side’s 1-1 draw with Deportivo Alaves on Saturday night. The La Liga giants saw their winless run extended to four matches on a frustrating evening of La Liga action. And their captain cut a frustrated figure throughout the match.
Barcelona continued their stuttering start to the new La Liga season on Saturday night.
Alaves took the lead through Luis Rioja, who struck in the 31st minute.
But Antoine Griezmann struck for Barcelona to earn his side a crucial point in the 63rd minute, on a night where they struggled again.
Messi cut a frustrated figure throughout the match and was given a yellow card for kicking the ball away.
It narrowly sailed past referee Hernandez Hernandez and, now, former La Liga official Juan Andujar Oliver has insisted he should have been dismissed because he was trying to ‘intimidate’ the match official.
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"It's not normal for a team like Barca to pick up just two points from the last 12 [available].
"But as I have said, we're changing a lot of things. I can't complain about the attitude of the team. I can be disappointed with the performances, but the season is very long."
He then added: "I am very disappointed with the result and once again we haven't done enough in attack to win the game.
"That was the problem against Juventus in midweek and it cost us two points today.
"It's not an attitude or concentration problem, it's about taking our chances. It's not acceptable for a team like Barca to create so many chances to only score one goal -- but I would be more worried if we weren't creating."
Koeman decided to tinker with his Barcelona side at the break against Alaves, making three substitutions.
And he admitted he opted to change things up because he was unsatisfied with his side’s first half display, saying: "I made the changes because I wasn't happy with the first half and because some players were carrying a booking.
"I was criticised the other day for making my subs late but today I made them at the break and we were much better. We created a lot of chances."
Barcelona are next in action against Dynamo Kiev in the Champions League on Wednesday night.
And, after that, Koeman’s side will face off against Real Betis on the domestic front.
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